Container and closure assembly



"March 12, 1968 a w l F: 2 246 2 Ya :i 6/ 5 '50 4'8 l T x xi [50/ f r T INVEN'lfORS i (y 15? 46 Robert A. Ayott e Arthur J. 00 9/05" L 46 BY ATTORNEY United States Patent Claims. (Cl. 220--60) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A container and closure assembly comprising an open ended container member, a closure member for sealingly closing said open end, complementary formed interlocking rib means on said container and closure members for holding said closure member in a sealed closing rela tion to said open end of the container, first and second lug means carried by a surface of said closure and container members respectively, said lug means each having a camming surface interengageable with the other and inclined with respect to the vertical axis of the container member and said camming surfaces being selectively interengageable responsive to relative rotation thereof to effect positive axial disengagement of the aforesaid interlocking means.

This invention relates to a container and closure assembly which is so constructed as to particularly facilitate easy removal of the closure from the container where easy removal of the closure is desilrable, and also to facilitate easy assembly of the closure to the container, and in which the construction may be varied at the time of manufacture to control the degree of force required to remove the closure.

In certain types of container assemblies, it is desirable to be able to remove the closure from the container with a minimum of difficulty and also to be able to easily assemble the closure in effectively sealed relation to the neck or open upper end of the container. On the other hand, in container assemblies intended for other purposes, it may be desirable that a greater degree of force be required to remove the closure from the container.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to pro vide an assembly of a container and a closure member therefor in which the closure member may be easily removed from the container.

It is another object of the invention to provide a combined container and closure assembly in which the closure is easily assembled to the open upper end or neck of the container in etiectively sealed relation thereto.

It is still another object of the invention to provide as assembly of a container and a closure member there for in which by suitably constructing the cooperating elements on the container and closure, a greater or lesser degree of force may be required, as desired, to remove the closure from the container.

In achievement of these objectives, there is provided in accordance with an embodiment of this invention an assembly of a container and a closure cap preferably formed of suitable plastic material, in which the closure cap is provided with an interlocking means in the form of an internal peripheral or circumferential rib which snaps into engagement with a cooperating interlocking means in the form of an external peripheral or circumferential rib on the container neck or open end to hold the closure cap and container in assembled sealed relation to each other. The material of at least one member of the two member closure cap-container assembly should be flexible to permit the snap engagement and disengagement of these members. The closure cap is provided adjacent its internal rib with an integral internal lug which cooperates with integral lugs on the exterior surface of the container neck to facilitate removal of the closure cap from the container neck. The internal lug on the closure cap is provided with tapered edges which define inclined planes parallel to inclined planes defined by tapered edges of the lugs on the container neck, whereby manual rotation of the closure cap to move the integral lug on the closure cap into engagement with any one of the lugs on the container neck causes a tapered edge of the lug on the closure cap to ride up along the tapered edge of a lug on the container neck to thereby force the cap rib upwardl past the neck rib, breaking the seal between the closure cap and the container neck and effecting removal of the closure cap from the cotnainer neck. The degree of force required to remove the closure cap from the container can be adjusted or controlled at the time of manufacture by suitably selecting an appropriate angle of inclination of the inclined planes on the cooperating lugs of the closure and container.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a view in transverse section of the closure or cover member for the container;

FIG. 2 is a bottom plan view of the cover of FIG. 1, looking toward the inside surface of the cover member;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the neck portion or upper end of the container;

FIG. 4 is a front elevation view, partially broken away, of the neck portion or upper end of the container;

FIG. 5 is a view partially in vertical section and par tially in elevation, showing the closure member of FIGS. 1 and 2 in assembled relation to the neck or upper end of the cotnainer of FIGS. 3 and 4; and

FIG. 6 is a view partially in vertical section and partially in elevation, showing the closure member of FIGS. 1 and 2 positioned on the neck or upper end of the container of FIGS. 4 and 5, but in partially disassembled relation with respect thereto, with the closure member having been moved upwardly out of sealed relation with respect to the container member.

Referring now to the drawing, to FIGS. 1 and 2, there is shown a closure member generally indicated at it}, formed of any suitable material, but preferably of a suitable plastic material, such as a resilient polyethylene.

Closure cap Ill in the illustrated embodiment includes a cylindrical wall 12 closed at the upper end thereof with respect to the view shown in the drawings, by an integral top wall 14, and terminating at its lower end in a radially outwardly extending flange 16.

The internal finish of cap or closure 1-9 includes an integral circumferential rib generally indicated at 18. Rib 18 includes an upper surface it terminating at its radially innermost portion in a substantially vertical surface 225 of short axial height, and an under surface 23 tapering downwardly and radially outwardly from the lower boundary of vertical edge surface 22. of rib 18. In the views shown in the drawing, the longitudinal axis of the closure and container members and of the assembled members, extends in a vertical plane.

In accordance with an important feature of the construction, a lug member generally indicated at 24 of triangular shape extends axially downwardly in a vertical plane from immediately beneath the lower boundary of the short substantially coincides with the upper boundary of the: tapered under surface 23 of the rib. Lug 24 extends downwardly (relative to the view of FIG. 1) below the tapered under surface 23 of rib 18, with the lower end of lug 24 protruding radially inwardly beyond the inner surface of cylindrical Wall 12 of the closure cap.

and more particularly vertical edge 22 of rib 18 which.

As best seen in the view of FIG. 2, lug 24 is circumferentially curved to conform to the circumferential periphery of the tapered under surface 23 of rib 18. Lug 24 includes two tapered edges 28 and 3t respectively, which merge with each other at an apex 32. The surfaces of edges 28 and of lug 24 define inclined planes which cooperate with similarly inclined planes on the lugs of the container neck, as will be explained hereinafter. The angle A which the respective edges 28 and 34 make with the horizontal plane is made approximately 36* degrees where it is desired that the closure be easily removable, since this provides a satisfactory angle for easy opening of the closure. If it is desired that more force be required to remove the closure, as for example, where it is desired to make the container difficult for children to open, then the angle A may be made sufficiently large to require the desired degree of force for removing the closure.

Lug member 24 is of substantially uniform thickness throughout the bodythereof, as represented by the dimension T in FIGS. 2 and 5, the dimension T being slightly less in the illustrated embodiment than the radial width in horizontal projection of the tapered under surface 23 of rib 18.

The size and vertical height of lug 24, as determined by the length of tapered edges 28 and 30, are made such as to insure that the lug 24 is properly positioned to engage one of the neck lugs 46 when the closure and container are assembled, despite any variations in tolerances or dimensions in different container assemblies.

The container member generally indicated at 40 in FIGS. 4, 5, and 6 may have any suitable type of body configuration, not shown, below the cylindrical neck portion 42 of the container. The term neck as used throughout the specification and claims is intended to describe the open end of the container 40 which is closed by the closure member 19. The container 40 includin the neck portion thereof is made of any suitable material, preferably a. suitable plastic material, such as polyethylene, for example. In selecting the material from which the container and closure members are made, at least one of these members should be made of material having some flexibility to permit the snap-on sealing engagement and snap-off disengagement of the cap It) and neck portion 42 with each other, as will be hereinafter explained.

Neck portion 42 of the container is provided adjacent the upper end thereof with an integral circumferential external rib 44 adjacent the upper edge or rim of the neck. Below the circumferential rib 44, the outer surface of neck 4-2 is provided with a plurality of circumferentially spaced lug members each generally indicated at 46, lying in a normally vertical plane. Each of the lugs 46 includes a base edge 48 and two upwardly extending inclined or tapered edges 50 and S2. Edges 50 and 52 of each lug terminate in an apex 54. The surfaces of edges 5% and 52 of lugs 46 define inclined planes which cooperate with the inclined planes defined by the tapered edges 28 and 30 of lug 24 on closure cap 10. Each of the lugs 45 on the container neck has substantially the same body thickness as the thickness T of the lug 24 on closure cap 10. Also, each of the lugs 46 on the container neck is located at substantially the same radial distance from the central vertical or longitudinal axis of the assembled closure and container as the radial distance of the lug 24 on closure cap 10 from the central vertical or longitudinal axis of the assembly, so that when cap 19 is rotated, as will be hereinafter explained, a tapered edge 28 or 39 of lug 24 on the closure cap is movable into abutting relation to a tapered edge or 52 on one of the lugs 46 on the container neck.

The base edge 48 and the upwardly inclined edges 50 and 52 of each lug 46, respectively, subtend an interior angle A which is the same as the angle A of lugs 24 on the closure cap ltl which, in the illustrated embodiment, is 30 degrees. In the illustrated embodiment, four lugs 46 are provided at -degrees circumferential spacing from each other relative to the container neck 42, and all at the same vertical height on the container neck.

Closure cap 10 is assembled onto the neck 40 of the container by means of direct vertical pressure which causes internal rib 18 of the closure cap to snap past the external rib 44 of the container neck. The outer diameter of the external rib 44 on the container neck is slightly greater than the internal diameter of rib 18 on the closure cap, so that it is necessary that the internal rib 18 on the closure snap past the external rib 44 on the container neck when the cap is being positioned on or removed from the container neck.

When the closure cap has been positioned on the neck of the container, the cap or closure 10 and the container neck 42 then assume the relation best seen in FIG. 5 of the drawing in which the under surface of top wall 14 of the closure cap seats in sealing relation onto the flat top surface of rim 58 of the container neck, thereby providing a leak-proof seal at this area. A secondary seal is effected at the region of contact between rib 44 on the container neck and rib 18 on the closure cap. The cap 10 is held in the locked-on assembled position shown in FIG. 5 and the seal between the cap rib and the neck rib is maintained due to the fact that the cap rib 18, because its internal diameteris less than the outer diameter of neck rib 44, is restrained from slipping back over the neck rib 44.

Closure cap 10 is removed from neck 42 of the container by rotating the cap a maximum of 90 degrees in either direction, until lug 24 on the closure cap abuts against one of the neck finish lugs 46. When this occurs, the matching parallel tapered edges, such as edge 30 on the cap lug and edge 50 on the neck lug force the cap lug to ride up the neck lug 46 as best seen in FIG. 6 of the drawing, due to the parallel plane relation of the abutting edges of the cap lug and the neck lug. The combined rotating and upward motion provided by manually rotating closure cap 10 as the cap lug rides up along the neck lug, forces cap rib 18 upwardly past neck rib 44, thus breaking the seal between the cap and the container neck and effecting removal of the cap from the container neck. The length of the path of sliding contact between the tapered edges of the abutting lugs 24 and 46 is made such as to insure that a sufiicient vertical lift is imparted to the closure cap to insure disengagement of the closure cap from the container neck.

It can be seen that there is provided in accordance with this invention a combined closure cap and container assembly in which the container cap may be easily assembled onto the neck of the container in effective sealing relation thereto, with a dual seal being provided, namely, between the under surface of the top Wall of the closure cap and the top rim of the container neck, and also between the abutting surfaces of the internal rib of the closure cap and the external rib of the container neck. Furthermore, the provision of the lug member on the interior of the closure cap which cooperates with the lug members on the exterior surface of the container neck, permits easy removal of the closure cap from its assembled and sealed relation to the container neck when desired. Also, by selecting an appropriate angle of inclination of the inclined planes on the lug members, the amount of force required for removing the closure may be predetermined at the time of manufacture.

While there has been shown and described a particular embodiment of the invention, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the invention, and, therefore, it is aimed to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

What we claim as our invention is:

l. A container and closure assembly comprising a container member open at one end thereof, a closure member for said open end of said container member, cooperating interlocking means on said container member and on said closure member for holding said closure member assembled in closing relation to said open end of said container member, first lug means carried by a surface of said closure member, said first lug means having a surface thereon defining an inclined plane with respect to the vertical axis of the container, second lug means carried by a surface of said container member adjacent said open end of said container member and having a surface thereon defining an inclined plane gen erally parallel to and selectively engageable by said inclined plane of said first lug means, said inclined plane surfaces of the respective lug means being interengageable responsive to relative rotation thereof to effect positive axial disengagement of the aforesaid interlocking means.

2. A container and closure assembly as defined in claim 1 in which at least one of said members is flexible and said cooperating interlocking means comprise an arcuate rib on one of said members and a complementally formed rib on the other of said members, said ribs normally interlockingly engaging when said members are in assembled closed relation to each other.

3. A container and closure assembly as defined in claim 1 in which at least one of said members is flexible and said cooperating interlocking means comprises an internal rib on said closure member and an external rib on said end of said container member, said ribs interengaging eachother when said members are in assembled relation to each other.

4. A container and closure assembly as defined in claim 1 in which one of said members is provided with a plurality of lugs spaced from each other about the periphery of said one member, each of said plurality of lugs having a surface thereon defining an inclined plane, said other member being provided with at least one lug selectively engageable with said plurality of lugs of said one member and having a surface thereon defining an inclined plane parallel to and selectively engageable with the inclined plane of the respective lugs of said plurality of lugs.

5. A container and closure assembly as defined in claim 1 in which said container member is provided in the end region thereof with a plurality of lugs spaced from each other about the periphery of said end region, each of said plurality of lugs having a surface thereof defining an inclined plane, said closure member being provided with a lug positioned to be selectively engageable with said plurality of lugs of said container member and having a surface thereon defining an inclined plane parallel to and selectively engageable with the inclined plane of the respective lugs of said plurality of lugs.

6. A container and closure assembly as defined in claim 1 in which said first and said second lug means are each of triangular shape, the apex of one of said lug means being directed in a normally upward direction, the apex of the other of said lug means being directed in a normally downward direction, said first and said second lug means each including two tapered edges each respectively defining an inclined plane parallel to an inclined plane of a corresponding tapered edge of the other of said lug means.

7. A container and closure assembly as defined in claim 1 in which said container member is provided in the end region thereof with a plurality of lugs spaced from each other about the periphery of said end region and said closure member is provided with a lug positioned to be selectively engageable with said lugs of said container member, each of said lugs of said container member and of said closure member being of triangular shape and each including two tapered edges, the apices of the lugs on said container member being directed in an opposite direction than the apex of the lug on said closure member with respect to the normally vertical axis of the container closure assembly, each tapered edge of said lug on said closure member defining an inclined plane parallel to an inclined plane defined by a corresponding parallel tapered edge of each of the lugs on said container member.

8. A container and closure assembly as defined in claim 1 in which said container member is of substantially cylindrical shape in the end region thereof and said closure member is of substantially cylindrical shape at least in the portion thereof which engages said container.

9. A container and closure assembly as defined in claim 1 in which said first lug means is on the internal surface of said closure member and said second lug means is on the external surface of said container member.

it). A container and closure assembly comprising a container member open at one end thereof, a closure member for said end of said container member, cooperating interlocking means on said container member and on said closure member for holding said closure member assembled in closing relation to said open end of said container member, interengageable cooperating means on the respective members for imparting axial separation of said members including a first lug means carried by a surface of said closure member, said first lug means having a camming surface thereon and a second lug means being normally laterally offset from the first lug means and carried by a surface of said container member adjacent said open end of said container member and having a complemental camming surface thereon inclined with respect to the vertical axis of said container member, said camming surfaces of the respective lug means being interengageable responsive to relative rotation thereof to effect positive axial disengagement of the aforesaid interlocking means.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 9/1965 Herdering 220 4/1966 Beaman et al. 220-60 

